Arab League Leader Visits State Department; Exchanges Views

The Secretary General of the Arab League, Abdul Khalik Hassouna, today visited the State Department and conferred with Henry A. Byroade, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. The meeting lasted over an hour.

Asked by correspondents if he talked about recent Arab allegations of “aggression” against Israel, Mr. Hassouna stated: “that particular issue was not reached because of limited time.” He said he exchanged views with Mr. Byroade “about all problems that interest the Arab world and the United States,” noting that he was “pleased with the results of the visit.” Ideas, he said, were exchanged “very frankly and very constructively.”

The Arab League, he declared, shares the view expressed by Dr. Charles Malik, Lebanese delegate, before the United Nations General Assembly last month that the entire area of Jerusalem should be totally internationalized. However, under questioning about Jordan’s position on this question, he said that the Arab League stand was maintained “with the exception of Jordan for the time being, “